Hairstyles for thin hair?

sushanna1

Hairstyles for thin hair?

sushanna1

Hi,

 Any thoughts on good hairstyles for straight fine hair that seems to be getting thinner?  I fear it is a side effect of femara.  Last year I jokingly told a rep at a cancer seminar that the company should offer free makeovers next year to teach us new ways of dealing with thinning hair.  He acted like no one had ever mentioned it before. 

sam52

Sushanna - cant really help you with the hairstyle......mine is very curly (and was so even before chemo).

Just wanted to let you know that mine has thinned considerably since taking aromasin (for last 3 years); it is a known side effect of AI's - seems aromasin most likely, followed by femara, though I have heard of people whose hair thinned on arimidex too. Its a real bummer, but I shouldn't complain too much since it's the only s/e I got.

Sam

abbadoodles

Try a body wave.  Curls can make a head of hair look thicker.  Maybe it's time for a new look this spring!

sushanna1

Sigh. Please no "body waves."  I have gone that route before and my hair goes from straight to pure frizz and gets damaged in the process.  Multiple types of body waves in different salons so it wasn't the stylist or the individual product.  The only times that I had hair troubles before this, were as a result of "body waves."  When I was young, I wanted curls, but now I would not know what to do with them.  Even my post-chemo hair was not curly, just poufier than usual.   

otter

Sushanna1, I am still bald from chemo so I have no personal experience with thin hair, but...

Several things I read while preparing for chemo-induced hair loss suggested a really short haircut as a way to make your hair look thicker.  Mine came out too quickly to try that experiment, but it might work, as long as your hair isn't so thin that your scalp shows through.

BTW, I had really long, thick, straight hair as a child; and my mom insisted on giving me a "permanent" every once in awhile.  She wanted my hair to be wavy, but it preferred to be straight.  Once I reached the age of consent, I quit trying to do anything that brutal to my hair.  I've always loved it.  Unfortunately, it's going to be quite awhile before I see it again... 

Hugs,

otter 

Binney4

sushanna, I did 5 years of Arimidex with no hair loss, then switched to Femara and had to buy a new drain screen for the shower in order to avoid a large plumbing bill. How about trying Arimidex?

Binney 

HKitty71

Because I have naturally thin fine hair, I mean thin fine hair (most babies have a better head of hair). My hairdresser tends to do it in bob and stack layers underneath. Because mine is quite thin in the front no bangs or it looks like a major bald spot.

Keeping length out of your hair, i.e. chin length or shorter is also one way of making it look thicker. Please no perms they tend to make it shed even worse. 

There are several good root lift products out there watch out for the ones with alcohol listed in the first 3 ingredients they will make your scalp dryer and itchy. Sunsilk (which you can buy at the drugstore) has one in a yellow bottle that works really well and it is creamy and no itching. Also my hairdresser recommends Nioxin, it works for some people.

I hope this helps.

Isabella4

I've just done four and a half years of Arimidex, and my hair has thinned since Christmas.

I've gone all these months with no hair problems at all, now I can see my pink head when I look in a back mirror.

I've always had lovely thick hair, I've messed about with it , coloured it, permed it, straightened it, and it still has looked reasonable, not any more, it looks just like a little old ladies hair.

I have no idea what my proper colour it is right now, it has changed so many times since I was 14 !

I had the lot cut off about 4 weeks ago, the hairdresser went overboard, and I ended up looking like a badly trimmed hedge, now I look like a badly trimmed thin hedge.

I was at the chemist today, bought a body perm kit, and a 'pearl blonde' hair colour kit, tomorrow I shall use one or the other kit, and see if I can make things look better....maybe not !! Anything has got to be better than my mop at the moment !! If things go wrong I shall just wear my gardening hat all summer !! 

Isabella.

HKitty71

I would try and find another hair dresser to maybe fix the cut before I applied chemicals, and if I did I would apply the hair color since perms can break the hair so much more. (Yes, I was a child of the 80's and 90's). My hair is so thin and fine it is either color it but not perm and color it. I would be bald by the second hour.

But I would try to find a hair dresser to fix the cut.

Because my hair is already so thin and I have not reached chemo or hormone treatments yet, you all know I am living with the dread.  As much as I loved Jessica Tandy as an actress I did not want my hair to go that way.

sushanna1

Thanks everyone for your advice.  This started after about six months on femara then slowed down for a couple of months and began again with a vengeance about six weeks ago.  I have been taking biotin for the past four or five months to no avail, but will probably take it for a couple of more months before giving up on it.  Bought a large bottle of nioxin shampoo, conditioner and some sort of foam on Saturday so am hoping that will slow down the shedding.  I have bangs and shoulder length hair that I wear pulled back with a clip, but it seems to take more and more time to arrange the hair to keep my scalp covered. 

Hkitty--Don't worry yet.  This doesn't happen to most people.  My hair had more texture than usual through five years of tamoxifen.  This is a relatively new problem which is why I assume it is related to the femara.  My goal is to stay on femara for at least two years (mid Feb. 2009) so I am looking for ways of slowing down the shedding and haircuts to disguise the thinning hair. 

Anonymous

sushanna....I'd recommend a good, professionally-cut & styled shag. Layers really thicken the look of your hair and if the stylist is skilled, s/he can create feathered bangs that will frame your face and cover the areas that are thinnest around your temples and forehead. And there are some great products that you can use too that will create volume in your style. I use a spray volumizer by Rusk, called Thick. It can be purchased online or you may find it in your local Target or pharmacy. Christophe also has a volumizing spray that I just started using and it's similar to Thick. But also do try to hang in there with the biotin (are you taking enough?) and using the Nioxin. If nothing else, the Nioxin is good for your hair and the biotin is good for your nails too.

~Marin

BMD

Femara made my new hair thin out after about the first 8 months or so. I got the Nioxin shampoo and scalp therapy and I have new hair growing all the time now. I am not sure if it was just the Femara SE moving on to the next body part, as the SE's seem to do, or the Nioxin but my hair is thicker now.

Odalys

My hair has thinned out on top since on Femara. I've been on it for 2 years now.  I tried both Biotin and Nioxin with no improvement.  The oncologist told me it also has to do with the lack of estrogren.  So I stopped the Nioxin and Biotin. As for hairstyles, I keep mine very short (pixie cut).  It looks fuller short. 

sushanna1

Olalys--Thanks for the advice.  Friday, the hairdresser gave me a "bob"  (think 1920's) and the hair looks much better. 

Odalys

Great.  I bet you look beautiful. 

After going through chemo, I think, every day is a good hair day...know what I mean?